A seven-year-old Whooping Crane — the only successful breeding female from the eastern migratory population — was shot and killed in western Indiana, near the town of Cayuga in central Vermillion County, officials with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the International Crane Foundation said today.
The crane, known as 17-02, and her mate, 11-02, hatched two chicks in summer 2006 and one in summer 2009 at Necedah National Wildlife Refuge in central Wisconsin. One of the 2006 birds survived. The parents have been the only adults in the eastern population to raise a chick and lead it to wintering grounds in Florida.
In late November, cranes 17-02 and 11-02 had stopped at a marsh in Indiana, a place they typically stop at on their southbound migration. Eva Szyszkoski, tracking field manager for the International Crane Foundation, observed the pair on November 28 during an aerial survey. On her return flight on Tuesday, December 1, 17-02 was missing. Ground tracker Jess Thompson raced to the area and found the bird dead near a ravine, not far from a rural county road.
Thompson declined to comment on the bird's condition when she found it because law-enforcement officers are conducting an investigation. She said that the tracking team is keeping tabs on 11-02 with the help of Indiana wildlife officials.
"Not only have we lost one of our breeding pairs, we have lost our only successful breeding pair," wrote Szyszkoski. "Hopefully #11-02 will be able to find a new mate, but since we are still low on the female-to-male ratio, I don't know how soon that may be."
Indiana Department of Natural Resources conservation officers and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service special agents are conducting a joint investigation into the incident. FWS is offering a minimum reward of $2,500 to the person or people who provide information leading to a conviction.
Anyone with information should call the Indiana DNR 24-hour hotline at (800) 847-4367 or the FWS at (317) 346-7016. Callers can remain anonymous. -- M.M.
Photo: Whooping Cranes 11-02 and 17-02 with their two wild-hatched chicks in the summer of 2006. Photo credit: Joan Garland, International Crane Foundation
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